Eva Petersson Brooks

Aalborg University · Department of Learning and Philosophy

Computational play is a novel concept and scarcely researched indicating that there is a need for moving beyond deficient models of Computational Thinking (CT) to more robust knowledge by integrating overlooked needs and interests of children and thus engaging them more substantially in computational play on their own premises. However, outcomes fr...

This chapter focuses on children’s play and making activities when involved in creative processes, in particular focusing on how different resources and materials foster their agency. The chapter will include empirical data where children (3–9 years of age) are engaged with both digital and analogue resources, (LEGO, Minecraft, and Virtual Reality)...

This short chapter reflects upon two studies involving patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and the differing profiles of the instructors leading the intervention sessions. The two studies were based upon wider explorations undertaken to research the potentials of contemporary affordable game platforms and specifically motion-based a...

In this paper, we outline a perspective on participatory designs for computational play as a social and material activity, beyond an understanding of computational activities as an individual “thinking” endeavor. The overall aim of this study is to explore how a participatory design approach including traditional and digital resources trigger child...

Current society is characterized by rapid development and change, with technology being at the forefront in shaping the future. To accommodate this, it is crucial to equip the next generation with the critical skills and knowledge necessary to navigate in such a world. One way to achieve this is through the introduction and implementation of scaffo...

Digital tools and solutions are increasingly used in society, creating a need for more digital skills in the workplace and everyday life. As society becomes increasingly digital, computational thinking becomes a fundamental skill for the 21st century. This paper examines play’s role in young children’s CT development in early childhood education. T...

The use of robotics technology in school is renowned for providing children with opportunities to interact and collaborate in various school subjects, which raise questions of how to design learning activities that include robot technology in education. In this paper we explore how a designerly approach can foster children’s perspective-taking whil...

Med udgangspunkt i det stigende behov for IT-kompetencer er de humanistiske uni­versitetsuddannelser begyndt at indføre kurser, der skal styrke de studerendes forståelse for informatik. Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan studerende på en masteruddannelse i IT på et humanistisk fakultet udvikler kompetencer i programmering og computationel tankegang....

Technology-rich creative and collaborative learning environments are believed to offer powerful settings for children to become acquainted with computational concepts through playful ways of learning. This chapter draws on a body of empirical research grounded in a Living Lab environment at Aalborg University in Denmark (Xlab – Design, Learning, In...

The presence of digital technologies in classroom settings is relentlessly getting stronger and has shown to have powerful playful qualities. In recent years, digital game-based learning (DGBL) has been introduced in schools. In this paper we explore game-based design activities to unfold playful and creative actions and interactions among children...

The goal of this paper was to explore the nature of university students’ and company representatives’ knowledge creation when they collaborated in co-design activities. Studies focusing on companies’ collaboration with universities and students primarily centres around how companies contribute to students’ learning of entrepreneurial skills and to...

The use of digital technology in school settings is increasing every year, where one aspect of digital technology is robotics in education. In relation to that and of uttermost importance is the issue of howto design teaching and learning activities that includes robot technology in education. In this paper we investigate howopen-ended designs can...

The use of digital technology in school settings is increasing every year, where one aspect of digital technology is robotics in education. In relation to that and of uttermost importance is the issue of how to design teaching and learning activities that includes robot technology in education. In this paper we investigate how open-ended designs ca...

The integration of digital technology in teaching activities has shown to be challenging for teachers. To approach this, the article investigated the foundation of teachers’ stance about developing their use of digital technology in teaching. The study draws on an action research approach, involving 35 teachers (K-2) in workshops and interaction-ba...

Aligned with the digital development in society, the use of digital game-based learning (DGBL) as a pedagogical enhancement has increased markedly in schools recently. However, due to various reasons, teachers are not always as enthusiastic to adopt the new technology in their classroom. In this paper we apply Engeströms activity system as an analy...

Digital technologies in combination with creative activities have been introduced in schools as a strategy for learning and teaching activities offering scaffolding opportunities. Additionally, digital game-based learning (DGBL) activities have also been tried out in schools in recent years, as well as different mobile technologies, with the ambiti...

Digitalization has changed ways of learning as well as challenged conditions for creativity in different landscapes of learning. This raises questions about how to approach learning and design in new ways. To address these queries, this conceptual symposium paper presents three perspectives on how innovative designs and learning in analogue and dig...

Digitalization has changed ways of learning as well as challenged conditions for creativity in different landscapes of learning. This raises questions about how to approach learning and design in new ways. To address these queries, this paper presents three perspectives on how innovative designs and learning in analogue and digital activities can p...

Aligned with the digital development in society, the use of digital game-based learning (DGBL) as a pedagogical enhancement has increased markedly in schools recently. However, due to various reasons, teachers are not always as enthusiastic to adopt the new technology in their classroom. In this paper we apply Engeströms activity system as an analy...

The chapter is summing up some of the point from the book "DIGITAL LEARNING AND COLLABORATIVE PRACTICES - Lessons from Inclusive and Empowering Participation with Emerging Technologies"

In this chapter, we seek to highlight the importance of allowing and including imagination and creativity in schoolchildren's work with programming robots to enhance learning and to generate interest in programming as such, using classic fairytales as a frame. Theoretically, the chapter draws on Vygotsky’s concepts of imagination and creativity to...

Virtual reality is used to support teaching in the professional caregiver educations. Virtual reality can visualize the anatomical part of the body and provide interactive content that support and motivate students. This paper presents a preliminary study of an ongoing development of two new virtual and augmented reality applications with teaching...

In recent years, digital games have increasingly become an important part of children's lives. As a consequence, digital game-based learning (DGBL) activities have also been merged into the school context and tried out by teachers in various ways. The pedagogical and didactical values of integrating DGBL in education are however not yet concluded....

Digital Learning and Collaborative Practices offers a comprehensive overview of design-based, technology-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning in virtual settings. Today’s digital communications foster new opportunities for sharing culture and knowledge while also prompting concerns over division, disinformation and surveillance. This book...

Introduction to part two in the Book "DIGITAL LEARNING AND COLLABORATIVE PRACTICES - Lessons from Inclusive and Empowering Participation with Emerging Technologies

An international collaborative explorative pilot study is detailed between hospitals in Denmark and Sweden involving rehabilitation medical staff and children where the affordable, popular and commercially available Sony PlayStation 2 EyeToy® is used to investigate our goal in enquiring to the potentials of games utilizing mirrored user embodiment...

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Interactivity and Game Creation, ArtsIT 2020, held in Aalborg, Denmark, in December 2020. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The 28 revised full papers presented were carefully selected from 60 submissions. The papers repre...

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings the 5th EAI International Conference on DLI 2020, Design, Leaning and Innovation, which took place in December 2020. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The 14 revised full papers presented were carefully selected from 40 submissions and are organized in four the...

In work such as presented herein one can ask what the art is; who is the artist…. when is it art – why it’s art (Brooks 2019)? Truly international research is presented in that delegates working across national divides and diverse forms are represented. This section closes the ArtsIT contribution and leads into the Design, Learning, and Innovation...

In this chapter, contributions from DLI 2019 show that a design process is not given to its form, structure, or qualities. Rather, design work is given form by designers’ and technology developers’ own considerations and actions inspired and guided by people’s voices, desires, habits, and practices.

Games as entertainment, leisure, recreational, serious or otherwise where game-based designs of use such as gamification are discussed alongside access and inclusion for all to be able to enjoy and play and have fun. In-built to games are mechanics and motivational factors that are both intrinsic and extrinsic. Such factors can be influential to im...

This section of the volume explores potentials in new technologies suggesting that this requires involvement of various disciplines across societies. Specifically, the society faces a considerable challenge in fostering new ecosystems of innovation to harness holistic agile development processes for new technologies targeting more inclusive societi...

Shook (2007) informed how Human experience is the ultimate source and justification for all knowledge. Experience itself has accumulated in human memory and culture, gradually producing the methods of intelligence called “reason” and “science.” Having a focus on such experiences as opening theme for this work communicates the ‘human-at-center’ pers...

Realities, Intelligences and Interfaces …. from Augmented, through Virtual, and Mixed; Artificial, Machine, and Natural …. technologies are here to stay and are investigated across disciplines. This contribution introduces studies and applications from various countries that are both creative and thought provoking to inspire and motivate readership...

Digital technologies in combination with creative activities have been introduced in schools as a strategy for learning and teaching activities offering scaffolding opportunities. In recent years digital game-based learning (DGBL) activities also has been tried out in schools. In this paper, we examine how collaboration between school children is c...

Digital competence has become a concept that gradually has been addressed in classroom practices as well as in policy documents. This is due to educational reforms regarding the digitisation of educational practices. How, then, can teachers make sense of these changes putting pressure on improved quality of their educational outcomes? The paper inf...

This sixth part of the volume elaborates on questions related to how people can be prepared for as well as acting and learning in a digital world. In doing so, it contribute to defining effective and collaborative practices where stakeholders participate in technology-rich contexts as well as in environments that mix digital technologies with a ‘ma...

With the increased emergence of digital technology in the school context it is important to be aware of the fact that children’s use of digital technologies is conditioned by gender. In this paper we investigate how gender differences emerge in collaborative interactions between 9 to 10-year-old school children while collaboratively working on deve...

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of two conferences: The 8th EAI International Conference on ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation (ArtsIT 2019), and the 4th EAI International Conference on Design, Learning, and Innovation (DLI 2019). Both conferences were hosed in Aalborg, Denmark, and took place November 6-8, 2019....

Abstract. Digital technologies in combination with creative activities have been introduced in schools as a strategy for learning and teaching activities, encouraging engagement, productivity, and creativity as well as offering scaffolding opportunities. In recent years digital game-based learning (DGBL) activities also has been tried out in school...

In user studies with children, it is important to use age appropriate evaluation tools to better understand their preferences, opinions, and thoughts. Here, we studied two accepted evaluation tools: The Five Degrees of Happiness, and the Sticky Ladder rating scale; together with the Paper Ladder, a paper version of the latter. Thirty-six preschoole...

This paper investigates children's perception of online privacy and data collection. An initial pilot study was carried out applying a participatory approach to a creativity workshop including 25 fourth-grader children between 10 and 11 years of age, from a primary school in Denmark. For most of the children the concept of privacy mainly concerned...

Background The presence of educational robots in preschool and early primary school settings is getting stronger and has shown to have powerful playful qualities and to support learning. Research within socially assistive robotics in education suggests embodied robotic technology may facilitate social engagement and support inclusion, however littl...

The presence of educational robots in preschool and early primary school settings is getting stronger and has shown to have powerful playful qualities and to support interest in STEM (Camilleri, 2017). The question is whether it is possible to make use of these advantages and apply a robot-supported STEM-based approach to facilitate inclusion and i...

This study is based on a survey study distributed in the fall of 2017 in Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. The study was designed by a group of researchers from the Nordplus Horizontal project: Digital Computer Games for Learning in the Nordic Countries, to uncover teachers’ perceived obstacle in regard to using digital game-based learning in teaching...

The presence of digital technologies in classroom settings is relentlessly getting stronger and has shown to have powerful playful qualities. In recent years, digital game-based learning (DGBL) have been introduced in schools. In this paper we investigate an innovative approach to game-based learning, namely to use game design activities as motivat...

The international conference ArtsIT that began in 2009 has grown since its inauguration presentation in Taiwan. Since then it has been hosted twice in Denmark, 2011 and 2016; as well as in Italy 2013; Turkey 2014; and most recently in Crete, Greece in 2017. The international conference Design, Learning and Innovation (DLI) was inaugurated in 2016 a...

This paper introduces a seven-country international partner consortium project carried out under the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. The project was titled L.U.C.A.S. (Links United for Coma Awakenings through Sport). Targeted user-group was acquired brain injured, spinal cord injury, and patients recovering from coma – many being profoundly...

This article presents a body of work developed to focus on the development of innovative learning materials that promote young children's exploration and collaborative playful learning that have been deeply inspired by Seymour Papert. Through this contribution, we highlight how his research and published concepts have had a fundamental influence up...

The design of Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) has often involved children. Nowadays, the term co-creation is gaining momentum and extending the already established role of children as co-designers. In this sense children become creators of new personalized experiences not only during the design process but also when using the final interactive prod...

This paper presents a study on a current phenomenon conceptualized as BioSpil, which brings interactivity and gaming into a cinema context. The study focused on two questions, namely in what way BioSpil can be called a game, and how it functions as a social game. The study applied an ethnographic approach. The analysis showed that BioSpil had a gam...

This paper deals with the challenge of designing online learning architectures for master students. From different theoretical concepts and with a netnographic methodological research approach, the paper discusses theoretical concepts, challenges and mechanisms significant to designing and structuring the “walls” of a digital learning architecture...

This book constitutes the proceedings of two conferences: The 6th International Conference on ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation (ArtsIT 2017) and the Second International Conference on Design, Learning and Innovation (DLI 2017). The event was hosted in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, in October 2017 and attracted 65 submissions from which 50 full...

Inclusive and broad research stresses the need for museums to be socially responsible in the representation of the various communities it represents. This article examines the curator’s representation of source communities presented in two exhibitions in the First Australians Galleries at the National Museum of Australia – investigated through the...

We present Paper Ladder, a low-cost, light-weight, and paper-based variant of the Sticky Ladder rating scale to collect children's product preferences in user studies. This paper version revamps the original, effective but arguably impractical evaluation method by making it more accessible to researchers. In this paper, we show its potential with p...

Toys are considered to be children’s cultural objects, yet when placed in a toy museum context they become a collection for adult viewing. This article uses Kress and van Leeuwens’ concept of ‘semiotic landscape’ wherein the exhibit provides a specific context of communication that becomes a mediating device between adults and children. The questio...

This book constitutes the proceedings of two conferences: The 5th International Conference on ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation (ArtsIT 2016) and the First International Conference on Design, Learning and Innovation (DLI 2016). ArtsIT is reflecting trends in the expanding field of digital art, interactive art, and how game creation is conside...

In this paper, we consider the potential of combining design, engineering and sociological perspectives with user perspectives, as part of a user-centered, inclusive design process. Our particular interest lies in the design of inclusive toys and games that disabled and non-disabled children can play together and which foster positive interactions...

In this paper, the authors draw on methods used in the field of interaction design, emphasizing a user-centred design approach including methods such as usability testing, design metaphors, interview with users, video observations, focus groups, and think aloud sessions. However, a challenge of these methods is that they are designed for adults and...

This study explored how audio-visual biofeedback influences physical balance of seven balance-impaired stroke patients, between 33–70 years-of-age. The setup included a bespoke balance board and a music rhythm game. The procedure was designed as follows: (1) a control group who performed a balance training exercise without any technological input,...

This paper discusses strategies for improving how creative professionals embrace new digital tools into their workflow, in context of the EU-funded international research project IdeaGarden, which aims at developing tools and scenarios that facilitate creative collaboration. In previous research by the authors, a preference for analog tools over di...

This paper presents the design and evaluation of a usability and user experience test of a virtual dressing room. First, we motivate and introduce our recent developed prototype of a virtual dressing room. Next, we present the research and test design grounded in related usability and user experience studies. We give a description of the experiment...

This paper reports on the lessons learned from working with creative visual methods with young children between the ages of 3 to 5 years-of-age in an early years educational setting in Southern Denmark as part of an 18-month project on Digital Playful Learning. The overarching goal of the study was to create a practice-based technology-enhanced pla...

This paper reports on a study exploring the outcomes from children’s play with technology in early childhood learning practices. The paper addresses questions related to how digital technology can foster creativity in early childhood learning environments. It consists of an analysis of children’s interaction with the KidSmart furniture focusing on...

This chapter reports on an explorative research study of how a Head Mounted Display (HMD)-experienced virtual environment influences physical balance of six balanceimpaired adults, 59-69 years-of-age, when compared to a control group of eight nonbalance- impaired adults, 18-28 years-of-age. The research test setup included a Microsoft Kinect and a...

This paper reports on an exploratory study investigating 10 primary school students’ interaction with an interactive multimodal molecular set fostering ludic engaging science learning content in primary schools (8th and 9th grade). The concept of the prototype design was to bridge the physical and virtual worlds with electronic tags and, through th...

This paper reports on an exploratory study that investigates 16 elementary school children’s interaction with two different mediums for creativity, LEGO® bricks and paper collages, drawing on the previous creativity assessment test carried out by Amabile [1]. The study is based in a playful learning theoretical framework that is reflected in the me...

Using the Virtual Dressing Room(VDR) system, which is created as a research project between different companies and universities in Denmark and funded by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, a usability study has been conducted with people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), the initial aim was to determine if the people with AS would use...

This paper reports on two linked studies exploring the general potentials, with foci on constraints and facilitators, of engagement in rehabilitation during motion-controlled video gameplay (MCVG). 17 female participants diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) took part in the studies, wherein three different MCVGs were used, which were conducte...

This paper investigates the performance of self in a virtual dressing room based on a camera-based system reflecting a full body mirrored image of the self. The study was based on a qualitative research approach and a user-centered design methodology. 22 participants participated in design sessions, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire in...

This paper discusses the use of digital and analog tools, respectively, in a creative industry. The research was done within the EU-funded research project IdeaGarden, which explores digital platforms for creative collaboration. The findings in a case study of LEGO® Future Lab, one of LEGO Group’s largest innovation departments, show a preference f...

This paper reports on a study exploring the outcomes from children’s play with technology in early childhood learning practices. The study is grounded in a sociocultural perspective on play and learning and consists of an analysis of children’s interaction with the KidSmart furniture, particularly focusing on playful learning potentials and values...

Information and communication technology and creativity are important aspects of learning, yet they are not used to their fullest potential in educational practices. This study aims to describe possible guidelines targeting the design of creative learning environments that influence well-considered use of technology. Results from focus group interv...

Purpose: Little is known of Motion-Controlled Video Games (MCVGs) as an intervention for people with chronic pain. The aim of this study was to explore the experience women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) had, using commercially available MCVGs; and to investigate indicators of symptom severity and performance of activities of daily living (ADL)....

This study explored the effects of a projected self-image in a game situation created for people with different impairments and ages, to question life quality and social cognition. A simple video capture game utilizing the Microsoft Kinect enabling embodied interaction was created. Test sessions consisting of two test conditions, a mirrored self-im...

The learning within and the design of a learning (or therapeutic) situation constitutes a situated activity with inherent actions and interventions. The participant profile influences the facilitator's decisions on how to set up the attributes of the environment relative to the desired learning process and the expected outcome of that process. This...

This study discusses how mediated play support learners' understanding of abstract concepts, through ownership and expression of self. The studies, Design-Learn-Innovate and MicroCulture, are targeted to primary and high school pupils, and are respectively set in a secondary school and in an archaeological museum. The impact of a dialogic setting f...

E-learning has made its entrance into educational institutions. Compared to traditional learning methods, e-learning has the benefit of enabling educational institutions to attract more students. E-learning not only opens up for an increased enrollment, it also gives students who would otherwise not be able to take the education to now get the poss...

This study explored the effect of a virtual agent, used as a storyteller in an interactive story, with the purpose of distributing information to leaders at the municipal government of Esbjerg, Denmark. The aim was to investigate the influence an agent might have on the user experience, when comparing it to a story with no agent. A simple story was...

22 adult females diagnosed as suffering Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) participated in two explorative studies investigating potential benefits from playing gesture-controlled video games. A main goal was researching potentials of commercial gaming systems with inbuilt Internet connectivity toward home-based self-driven adaptable 'telerehabilitation'...

This paper reports initial research findings from on-going longitudinal participatory design studies within a national (Danish) funded project to realize a gesture-controlled &'Online shopping-for-apparel' system --- A Virtual Dressing Room (VDR). A product that reduces customer purchase returns, reportedly up to 40%, which is a huge burden to the...

The phenomenon of creating virtual dressing room (VDR) environments has currently been widely recognized. Most of the existing VDR systems are of a goal-oriented, rather than open-ended, nature. This study is comparative and investigated two VDR solutions: LazyLazy and a new VDR user interface (UI). The systems were tested by 426 participants. The...

Analysis of museum learning practice and related work has revealed that communication of historical processes resembles school teaching and it may hinder children's participation in museum learning activities. Starting from this issue, a new playful installation was designed actively involving a group of primary school children. Results from this p...

This paper investigates the process of designing, executing and evaluating a Bachelor “soft” skills based course, Media Ethnographic Methods targeting students in a technical education (Medialogy). The course was designed as a creative workshop encouraging innovation, group dynamics and participation. The multimodal form of examination facilitated...

What does it mean to design a playful learning tool? What is needed for a learning tool to be perceived by potential users as playful? These questions emerged reflecting on a Participatory Design process aimed at enhancing museum-learning practice from the perspective of primary school children. Different forms of emergent interactions were evident...

Children with severe physical disabilities have limited possibilities for joyful experiences and interactive play. Physical training and therapy to improve such opportunities for these children is often enduring, tedious and boring through repetition—and this is often the case for both patient and the facilitator or therapist. The aim of the study...

Non-formal learning is evident from an inhabited information space that is created from non-invasive multi-dimensional sensor technologies that source human gesture. Libraries of intuitive interfaces empower natural interaction where the gesture is mapped to the multisensory content. Large screen delivery and surround sound deliver the content for...